Fabric take-up



M Q, 1941. N CLOUTER 2,251,222

FABRIC TAKE-UP Filed May 1, 1930 s Sheets-Sheet 1 iVVEA/MB 2/1! 620F225? Jufly 9, 1911..

A. N. CLOUTIER FABRIC TAKE-UP 1 Filed May 1, 1959 lllLLll 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 arxvw July 29, 1941 A. N. CLOUTIER FABRIC TAKE-UP 3 SheetsSheet 5 Filed May 1, 1939 ivy/271517023- manque/[ac 01/2/2112,

Patented July 29, 1941 FABRIC TAKE-U? Application May 1, 1939, Serial No. 271,050

7 Claims. (01. 66-453) This case involves an invention in fabric takeups for knitting machines such as circular, independent needle knitting machines.

In the figures of drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section taken through a typical hosiery machine showing the manner of installation and method of operation for a take-up in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 1a. is a detail of adjusting means for takeup rollers.

Fig. 2 is an elevation showing the take-up applied to a hosiery machine.

Fig. 3 is a detail showing part of the take-up and the manner of driving the same.

Fig. 4 is a section taken through part of the frame of the machine and through the take-up illustrating the drive for the fabric gripping rollers and the manner in which drive is derived from a friction belt or strap.

Fig. 5 is a plan of the take-up showing guiding means for the fabric as it is drawn down through the take-up rollers.

The mechanism disclosed herein involves certain improvements in a fabric take-up such as has been patented to Fisher, United States Patent #1,450,799. The invention as herein described involves a take-up adapted to be located just beneath the cylinder of a hosiery or other independent needle knitting machine so that the take-up action will be applied very close to the knitting point. Among other features the takeup is extremely simple in its construction and effective in its operation, the same being easily installed on existing machines and being certain and efiicient in its operation. The take-up is adapted for use on any machines of the type mentioned and while its operation and use are not to be limited to any particular type of knitting, it is particularly advantageous when employed in machines in which knitting is carried on in string work. Such knitting is desirable in the knitting of certain types of hosiery in which elastic yarn is incorporated in the hosiery top as in St. Pierre Patent #2,131,720, methods for knitting such hosiery in string work being subject matter of United States Patent #2245979. The construction of this take-up is such that there are no projecting parts which might constitute a hazard to the knitter, it being customary to remove fabric from these machines when a certain length has accumulated beneath the take-up in a container or pan at the bottom of the machine. The fabric can be gripped and breaking courses pulled apart while the machine is in operation or the operator may cut a pull course and withdraw the same to remove an accumulated length of fabric. The fabric will be twisted to a certain extent as this'is done, but if the take-up is close to the cylinder so that ample room is provided and the take-up presents a smooth exterior, the operator can perform these operations with greater ease. With the type of take-up in which the action is exerted at a considerable distance from the cylinder and there is little or no space between the bottom of the take-up tube and container in which the fabric is caught, the machine must generally be stopped to remove fabric, especially if the container is directly attached to the take-up as in the' Fisher patent above mentioned.

The high position of the take up makes it less likely that fabric can accumulate beneath the take-up and in that way pile up against the fabric engaging rollers to Wind about them. Furthermore, the position of the take-up closely adjacent the knitting point allows fabric to be knitted and to be seen after it emerges from the take-up tube at about one stocking removed from the knitting point. This means that if there is a defective'needle, sinker, or the like, the imperfect fabric affected thereby will be observed much quicker than in take-ups located closely adjacent the lower part of the machine. This means that fewer imperfect articles will be knitted before the causeof the difficulty is remedied. Now referring to the figures of drawings, a knitting machine such as a Banner hosiery machine is shown in part having a cylinder l, circular base 2, driving ring gear 3; sinker head Q and sinker cam cap 5. In the cylinder are the usual independently operated latch needles 6 and cooperating sinkers l. A cam block ll carries stitch cams such as 9, and a center cam it which in cooperation with raise cams ll, function upon needle butts to impart the necessary stitch drawing movements incidental to knitting fabric. In Fig. 2 certain other parts of the machine are shown such as a frame l2, a main cam shaft l3 and a fashioning cam drum M. It is to be understood that these parts are merely illustrative of a typical machine of the type and the take-up is in nowise dependent upon any particular machine construction other than that of relative rotation of reciprocation or a needle bed with respect to cams so thattake-up action may be imparted during such relative rotation or reciprocatory strokes. I

The take-up mechanism itself includes among other parts, a tube or cylinder l5 being flanged at I6 so as to bear against the ring gear i! which, in the particular illustration herein given, would constitute part of the drive for wrap mechanism such as shown in United States Patent #1302508, or other wrapping means. If the machine were not provided with wrapping means, the said take-up tube might be adapted to engage the underside of ring gear 3 and be connected directly thereto, or a spacer similar in dimensions to the ring gear might be interposed just as the ring gear I! herein shown, so that one standard take-up may be used for various types of machines. Of course, for different sizes of cylinder and for different types of machines there may be different sizes of take-up. The tube l5 has a conical upper interior l8 termi nating at a point above the operating mechanism within the tube so that the fabric will be guided toward the center of the tube to avoid contact of certain parts at the sides.

Now referring to Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, the takeup action is imparted to the fabric by fluted rollers such as are commonly employed. A shaft I9 is free to rotate within openings which constitute bearings cut in the tube I5. On this shaft are fixed two fluted rollers and 2| between which is a worm wheel 22 adapted to be driven by a worm 23. The worm 23 is fixed to an upright or vertical spindle or shaft 24 rotatable within bearings 25 and 26 which project from a plate 21 attached by screws or other suitable connections at that side of the tube l5.

A second shaft 28 is rotatable within slots 29 and 3B in the tube l5 and a fluted roller 3| carried by said shaft 28 is maintained in position against the fluted rolls on shaft 19 by a yoke 32 guided within slots 29 and 3!] and bearing against shaft 28 as influenced by a spring 33. As shown in Fig. 1, this spring is connected at the lower end of tube l5, extends upwardly to press against the yoke being adjusted by a sliding adjuster 34 movable vertically of the tube in a slot 35 shown in both Figs. 1 and 1a. This adjuster is maintained in a predetermined position by the locking screw 36. V

The shaft 24 has fixed thereto at its lower end a fiber wheel 31 which, as herein shown, has a series of cork inserts 3B. This wheel is adapted to contact a leather strap or belt 39 as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. The wheel 3! projects through a slot 40 at the side of the tube and upon rotation of the machine, the cylinder and tube being the rotating elements, wheel 31 will contact the strap 39 and, at each revolution, will be rotated a partial turn in passing that strap. The strap is connected to a projection 4! on angular bracket 42 extending from the end of the machine frame l2 and at the other end to a spring 43 which connects to a part of the fashioning bracket designated at 43' in this instance although it is to be understood that the strap may be connected to any suitable parts of the machine or to special connections which are adapted to be attached to standard parts of a machine. Of course, in various machines, the cone structions being different, such a strap would have to be arranged differently but the only requirement is that it be in such position as to be contacted by the wheel 31 and to be in such position as shown in Fig. 4 as to be tensioned by spring 43 so as to impart the necessary frictional driving force to the roller or wheel for imparting the take-up action. Spring 43 may be varied as to strength or may be arranged so that it can be adjusted thereby to adjust the force or frictional driving engagement which is to be derived from the strap.

During rotary work the wheel 37 will be contacted at each revolution so as to be turned by the strap 38. The friction drive thus created is not positive to the extent that wheel 3'! is turned exactly the theoretical amount it might be due to its contact with the strap. There is a certain amount of slippage and the driving force is just sufficient to maintain a desired tension on the fabric. If there were no slippage of the Wheel as it engages the strap, the take-up action would be too rapid thus causing damage to the fabric. The cork inserts 38 are for the purpose of giving a better frictional engagement with the strap 39, especially after oil has accumulated to some extent on the strap and on the wheel. Accumulation of oil as aforesaid would tend to lessen the take-up action if drive of the fiber wheel by the strap was resorted to without the inserts. The inserts are unaffected by accumulation of oil to any extent which would materially lessen the driving engagement.

During reciprocatory work such as in the heel or toe of a stocking having a plain knitted foot (not split-foot), it is sufficient for the wheel 31 to engage the strap first in one direction of reciprocation and then in strokes in the opposite direction. The result is that as much as the take-up will be advanced, it will on the next stroke be turned backward, the turning backward being easier, of course, than the rotation ahead. The fabric is not desirably taken up at such time, but is merely to be held taut.

In split-foot knitting not only the heel and toe of the stocking are knitted in reciprocatory work, but as well, the high splice and foot. During those reciprocatory strokes, it is desirable that fabric be taken up since in contrast to knitting a heel and toe wherein the instep remains on the needles, fabric is being accumulated evenly at both sides of the knitted tube. To make the take-up effective at such times, a leather flap 44 is attached by suitable connecting means to the inside of the cylinder I5 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, this flap being of sufficient length to extend around the opening or slot 48 through which the Wheel projects and to assume a position between the wheel and strap. In one direction of movement as illustrated in Fig. 3, the flap will be effective to prevent rotation of wheel 3'! since the wheel will not contact the strap 39. In rotary work or in counter-clockwise strokes as shown in Fig. 4, said flap will merely fold back against the outside of the tube or cylinder 55 and the wheel 31 may engage the strap 39 in the usual fashion. Thus the take-up will be effective when knitting split work in one direction of reciprocation but not in the other. The fabric will be taken up since there will be no reverse rotation of the take-up rolls as controlled by the drive through wheel 31, worm 23, etc. Of course, in such split-foot knitting the take-up will be effective to a certain extent during knitting the heel and the toe. Since the flap is present, that can not be avoided, however, the effect is not such as to prevent use of the take-up or to make it neces sary to provide other means to take care of heel and toe knitting since the drive is not absolutely positive, but a certain amount of slip as before described makes it possible to obtain only a reasonable degree of tension on the fabric even though the wheel 3'! contacts the strap 39 in one direction of rotation in such reciprocatory knitting.

Referring to Figs. 1 and a fabric guide 45 is attached at that side of the tube l5 so as to cover the worm 23 and extend partially over the worm wheel 22, rollers 20 and 2|. This guide makes it easier to thread the fabric down through the fluted rolls upon starting knitting in string work in the machine and also prevents wrap yarns from getting caught in the moving parts at that time. After knitting is started and the knitted material has been properly engaged to be taken up, it will feed down between the fluted rollers without danger of being displaced or caught by any moving elements. It is desirable upon starting up the machine to knit enough fabric so that the end will extend down to be caught by the rolls and then to guide it manually between them. A second guiding plate 56 is attached to the lower end of the tube l5 and extends up in front of the wheel 31 nearly to the underside of fluted rollers 20 and 2!. As shown in Fig. 1, this plate will keep the fabric as it is taken up and drawn down through the machine free from entanglement with any of the moving parts such as Wheel 31 or worm wheel 22 and worm 23. The invention has been described as applied to plain and split foot hosiery machines, but such description is not to be taken as limiting on the scope of the same, but it is contemplated to use this take-up on all types of machines similar to those described such as rib machines, links and links and body type machines. While fiber and leather have been described as suitable material from which certain of the parts may be constructed, it is to be understood that these elements may be made from any suitable materials and that the disclosure in that respect is merely illustrative of one preferred form of the invention. Cork inserts are not necessary to be used since some other materials may be employed or materials may be used and frictional driving force obtained by certain other constructions adapted to operate unaffected by the presence of moisture or accumulation of oil. The position of this take-up is preferably as shown, that is, as close to the knitting point as may be reasonably practicable. Certain advantages arise in that only a short length of fabric. need be knitted on starting before it can be introduced at the take-up, also more room is available below the take-up for the operator to disconnect the work without stopping the machine. However, the take-up will be effective and may be used in positions farther removed from the knitting point such as in the Fisher patent. vantages in that there would be no projecting moving parts other than that of wheel 3! through slot 40, it being impossible for any injury to be received by an operator since the outside of the tube I5 is perfectly smooth and the outer surface of the wheel 3'! could not catch the hand of the operator or in any other Way cause injury such as is quite possible with the other type of takeup mechanism such as that shown in Fisher or others now commonly employed on hosiery machines wherein it is common practice to stop the machine for that very reason. The invention is defined in. the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fabric take-up for circular knitting machines having a driven cylinder and having in combination a pair of fabric engaging rollers, driving means for said rollers, and a rotating wheel, a tube enclosing both the engaging rollers and driving means, said tube being slotted for There would still be certain adthe projection 'of said rotating wheel by means of which said driving means is to be turned and means external of the tube for engagement with said Wheel thereby to actuate the take-up as the cylinder and tube are rotated.

2. Fabric take-up means for circular knitting machines having a rotating needle cylinder including a tube attached beneath said cylinder and closely adjacent thereto, fabric take-up means within said tube being driven by mechanism entirely enclosed within the tube except for slight projection of a driving wheel through an opening at the side of the tube, means external of the tube arranged to be contacted by said projecting wheel as said cylinder and tube are moved so that the wheel passes the said external driving means.

3. Fabrid take-up means for knitting machines including in combination an enclosing tube, fabric take-up means within the tube including a pair of fluted rollers, spring means for pressing one of said rollers into contact with the other, driving means for one of the pair of rollers including a Worm, a worm wheel and a driving Wheel for said worm projecting through an opening at the side of said engaging tube and a strap so arranged externally of the tube as to be contacted by said projecting wheel as the tube is rotated or reciprocated during the knitting process.

4. A fabric take-up for knitting machines including in combination fabric engaging means and enclosing means for said engaging means, driving means for the fabric engaging means contained within said enclosing means except for projection of a substantially smooth surfaced friction wheel, and friction means outside the enclosing means for engagement with the said wheel upon relative movement between the engaging means and the external driving means.

5. In a fabric take-up for circular knitting machines, a pair of fluted fabric engaging rollers, one of said rollers being laterally movable to and from the other roller, spring means for pressing said laterally movable roller into engagement with the other said roller, adjusting means for said resilient means, driving means for the other roller including a worm, a worm wheel and a friction wheel for rotating a shaft to which the said worm is fixed, said friction wheel passing through an opening at the side of an enclosing means for the entire take-up mechanism except that portion of said wheel which projects through said opening, a leather strap external of the enclosing means and in position to engage the Wheel as the take-up means is bodily moved past said strap and means in said projecting wheel for increasing the frictional driving engagement of said wheel with said strap.

6. A fabric take-up for knitting machines including in combination fabric engaging means, driving means for said fabric engaging means, an enclosing tube within which said engaging means and driving means are contained, said driving means including a friction wheel projecting through an opening at the side of said enclosing tube, a strap fixed externally of the tube and adapted to engage the projecting wheel as the tube is bodily rotated with respect to said strap, a flap attached to extend over said opening in the tube and between said wheel and strap upon movement of the tube in one direction but to uncover said wheel so that the same may be frictionally engaged by the strap upon movement of the tube in the opposite direction.

'7. A fabric take-up for knitting machines including in combination fabric engaging means, driving means for said engaging means, an enclosing tube within which said engaging means and driving means are contained, said driving means including a friction wheel projecting through an opening at the side of said tube, a strap fixed externally of the tube and adapted to engage the projecting Wheel as the tube is bodily rotated with respect to the strap, means at one side of said opening and adapted to swing into position to cover said wheel and thereby to prevent contact of the wheel with the strap upon movement of the tube in one direction, but to swing away from the opening thereby to allow the Wheel to be rotated by the strap upon movements in the other direction.

ARTHUR N. OLOUTIER. 

